More than 11,000 athletes traveled to Paris to compete in this year’s Olympics. A dream only five UTSA athletes have had the chance to experience. The fifth being the newest member to the Roadrunner track and field team, junior Fatoumata Kabo. Raised in Carpenedolo, Italy, Kabo joined the Italian national team this past summer in hopes of competing in the 4×400 meter relay. Although the young athlete did not compete in her anticipated event, qualifying for the national team alone is an accomplishment in itself.
Kabo has had great success all throughout her collegiate career. As an athlete at Angelo State University, she competed in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships placing fourth in the 400 meter relay. Kabo won gold in the 400 meter hurdles and the 4×400 meter relay at the 2024 Lone Star Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships and most recently became an NCAA Division 2 National Champion in the 400 meter hurdles and 4×400 meter relay. She then went on to compete in the Italian National Championships where she placed fourth in her event securing an invitation to the Italian national team. Kabo, along with her other Italian national team members, shared a unique experience training up in the mountains of Predazzo, Italy.
“I was more nervous about meeting the Italian team because I’d never met them before so it was my first time with them,” Kabo said. “I met the 4×400 relay a week before because we went to the mountains to practice together. It was really fun; they are really kind people.”
“I love mountains so I had so much fun and the weather wasn’t that hot like down in Italy. The weather was cool, it was nice to practice there and we ate really healthy and we had time to go around and see the animals and nature and had ice baths in the lake,” Kabo recalls about the experience.
Once it came time to travel to Paris, Kabo waited to find out if she was going to compete in the 4×400 meter relay, a decision that was to be announced the day before the race would take place. Despite not being chosen to compete, Kabo was still able to enjoy her first time at the Olympics and in Paris as well.
“I thought I was about to compete at the Olympics but they tell us the day before or the evening before who’s gonna compete that day and I wasn’t one of them,” Kabo said. “My first experience on the Italian team was in the Olympics so it was a big thing for me, I think it’s every athlete’s dream to be on a national team so I was really happy and grateful for that.”
During her time in Paris, Kabo enjoyed cheering on her teammates in their respective events and took part in all that the Olympic village had to offer, including the pin trading among athletes, enjoying the viral Olympic village muffin and even the cardboard beds.
“I think the Olympic village was really fun because I met a lot of athletes from around the world,” Kabo said. “We had those cardboard beds. It was really comfy for me, some people complained about it but I [thought] it was comfy.”
Though Kabo has now returned to the U.S and has found a new home in San Antonio, she has not given up on the idea of competing in the Olympics. The Paisano asked if she planned on returning to the Olympics in 2028, she said, “Yeah sure! Hopefully I will make it for my own event. I would like to make it for the 400 and 400 meter hurdles.”
Today you can find Kabo training for her first upcoming season at UTSA. The driving force in Kabo’s decision to become a Roadrunner came from a change in environment so that she could live her best experience as an international student. UTSA has become home to many international students over the years, housing 677 international students in the 2023-2024 school year alone. Kabo also feels that a good relationship with her coaches and community are the best support system to have as a student athlete.
“I heard about UTSA and one of my friends came here, so he talked with my coaches and after I was in the portal they contacted me,” Kabo said. “I decided to come here because I feel like my coaches are really nice. I feel a connection with them. I feel like that’s the most important part to me, to have a good relationship with the coach because being an athlete is also hard so you have to be surrounded by nice people.”
Gearing up for this upcoming track season, Kabo looks forward to growing as an athlete now that she’s transitioned from D2 to D1. Just like any student, she’s learning how to manage it all from school to sports and everything in between.
“I think D2 was hard so D1 is going to be harder. I know D1 athletes are really good so that’s going to be a big challenge for me. Hopefully I will be the standard they expect me to be,” Kabo said. “I have to work on my 400m hurdles. I have coach Jackie who’s teaching me how to alternate and all that stuff so I have to work really hard. Work hard on the track, eat healthy, go to sleep and try to manage everything with school.”
“Academically, I would like to work on my English and my grammar. I would like to meet people and be more friendly. I’m really a shy person if I don’t know you, so it takes me some time to approach somebody so I would like to improve that part of myself. For track I have to work really hard because you know people think ‘oh she’s been in the Olympics so she has to be very good’ so I have to work hard for my next indoor season and outdoor season and hopefully I would like to make it for the World Championships next year so yeah I just have to be dedicated.”
